Rajat Patidar has recovered from a left-knee niggle, and the BCCI’s Centre of Excellence has cleared him to play. He will rejoin the Madhya Pradesh squad in Kolkata on Friday and will be available for selection in the third round of the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy (SMAT), which begins on Sunday, November 30.
Patidar, the captain of Madhya Pradesh, has lined out of competitive cricket during the last four weeks. He reported of intense pain in his left knee on October 30, one day after he had played with the India A team in the first unofficial Test against South Africa A. It began when MP had to skip two rounds of Ranji Trophy which is scheduled on October 15 due to the issue first.
Patidar completed a 10-day rehabilitation program, and the Centre of Excellence medical staff (ESPNcricinfo) cleared him under the Return to Play (RTP) protocol. He has already started hitting and has progressively increased his workload. His accident came at a time when he was in excellent physical shape. He opened his Ranji season with a grand double century in his first match against Punjab and had already asserted himself brilliantly, scoring two hundreds and two half-centuries while leading Central Zone to the Duleep Trophy final.
Patidar will play the next SMAT 2025-26 fixtures since he last played in IPL 2025, where he captained Royal Challengers Bengaluru to the first IPL title in their history. His performance and management at the tournament made him the Madhya Pradesh all-format captain replacing Shubham Sharma.
MP entered this SMAT season with great expectations after coming second last year. Patidar was instrumental in that campaign, finishing second in terms of runs scored with 428 in nine innings at an excellent strike rate of 186.08. His total of 27 sixes was the most in the competition.
Madhya Pradesh has been unlucky starting the season as they have lost their first match against Hyderabad due to a match-winning half-century of Rahul Budhi. They will want to retaliate against Bihar on November 28 at Eden Gardens in Kolkata.
